Thursday, May 28, 2015

Kentucky probation and parole officers have been instructed this afternoon to sign their clients up for ObamaCare, Kim Murphy, Kynect Program Coordinator, said.

"We have been informed that all of the Probation and Parole officers statewide were going to be instructed to make sure everyone they see gets signed up (for ObamaCare)," she said. Murphy added that judges around the state have already been making ObamaCare enrollment a condition of release from prison.

Newly released ex-offenders are already eligible to sign up for ObamaCare, but the idea of forcing them to sign up or face being sent back to jail is new -- and problematic.

KRS 439.500(1)(a) prohibits probation and parole officers from using their office to influence the political action of any person. In the NFIB case, the United States Supreme Court explained "(n)either the Act nor any other law attaches negative legal consequences to not buying health insurance, beyond requiring payment to the IRS. The Government agrees with that reading, confirming that if someone chooses to pay rather than obtain health insurance, they have fully complied with the law."

So if not purchasing ObamaCare is not a matter of breaking the law, then forcing someone to become an ObamaCare statistic is clearly a political act. Probation and parole officers in Kentucky can't do that, so forcing them to violates state law.

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

The Kentucky Department of Insurance is required by federal law to post ObamaCare rate increase requests on Monday and they are widely expected to demonstrate more health reform failure, just as the fall campaign for Governor gets started.

"This weekend it will be official that Kentucky Republicans have nominated in Matt Bevin a candidate who has not wavered or played word games with real opposition to ObamaCare to run against a Democrat who has hid under his bed during the whole controversy," said David Adams, plaintiff in the legal effort to shut down Kentucky's state-run ObamaCare "exchange."

"Kentucky's ObamaCare 'public option' is insolvent and the expected death spiral is underway," Adams said. "It's going to be a very bumpy ride for Kentuckians still expecting ObamaCare to work."

Monday, May 18, 2015

Asking the Herald-Leader editorial board to pick the best Republican for governor is like taking a skunk on a coon hunt. Nevertheless, I appreciate the opportunity to respond to the fact they did not endorse me.

Kentucky is in bad shape. The next governor will find Frankfort's cupboards bare and hungry people beating on the doors of the Capitol calling on resources we don't have. This is not a time for trusting state government to someone seeking to make a statement or build a resume.

We need a problem-solver and that's what I am.

We need to fix a $34 billion hole in our public pension system. The longer we wait, the worse it gets and the more Kentuckians will suffer.

We can prevent that by amending our state constitution to allow limited casino gambling and requiring that revenue from this activity pay this huge debt. Kentuckians are already gambling in casinos, but the money is going to other states to help them pay their bills.

We need to stop throwing away the lives of young Kentuckians afflicted with drug addictions when they are willing to be saved. Tossing nonviolent drug addicts in prison with hardened criminals is an enormous waste of life and must be corrected for our state to reach its potential. I have a detailed plan to fix this.

And unlike my opponents, I will close Obamacare Kynect my first day in office.

Please learn more about my background and plans at www.willtscott.com.

The report analyzed health insurers' requests for risk corridor receivables. Those are funds supposed to be taken from profitable insurers and given to unprofitable ones under ObamaCare. Kentucky Health Cooperative booked more "receivables" expected to be coming from the risk corridor program than the company has in capital, which includes mostly federal loan and bailout funds.

According to the report, the Kentucky insurer booked an amount of risk corridor receivables equal to 117% of capital, more than every other insurer in the nation except one. The bad news for them and their customers is S&P estimates the risk corridor program is less than ten percent funded and there is no likelihood of Congress acting to make up the difference. That means the Kentucky Health Cooperative is toast.

Cooperative officials appear to be refusing all requests for comment and the Kentucky Department of Insurance has pulled down their web page that used to allow consumers to view rate increase requests.

Wednesday, May 06, 2015

Hal Heiner is either confused about the difference between the ObamaCare exchange and the Medicaid expansion or he has swallowed the left-wing KoolAid about what happens on the way to ending ObamaCare.

On a Kentucky Sports Radio debate today, Heiner said: "I am not willing to kick 330,000 people to the curb and destroy the healthcare system that's available..." That was in response to a question about Heiner's continued squishiness on ObamaCare.

The point is that since the very early days of the campaign, no one is talking about the impossible task of reversing the Medicaid expansion from the Governor's office. The question was about shutting down the state-run ObamaCare exchange, which will have no impact on the Medicaid expansion. Defaulting to the federal exchange involves no innocent victims, much less Heiner's imaginary 330,000 being "kicked to the curb."

My favorite part from Heiner was the bit about destroying the healthcare system. I'm guessing he just started his post-primary pivot to the left earlier than a more disciplined establishment politician would.

It's no secret gubernatorial candidate James Comer has been talking to lawyers about people talking to bloggers. Looks like he may need some better advice or something.

Comer claimed in a radio debate today in Louisville that Hal Heiner's campaign violated the law by speaking to a Lexington blogger.

Speaking to Heiner, Comer said "if you see an email that was sent from your running mate to this blogger, encouraging this blogger to contact all the Republican Party chairs and vice-chairs of the state and spreading lies about me, coordinating -- which is illegal on its own -- with this blogger, how would you react to that as the leader of your ticket with your running mate and your campaign staff?"

I would love to challenge Comer to show us the statute forbidding conversation, interaction or -- if you must -- coordination between a blogger and a candidate or a member of a campaign staff. He can't do it, of course, because no such prohibition exists anywhere.

This is really getting embarrassing. Ignorance of the law is no excuse for someone speeding in a school zone. That should go ten times more for someone who claims he wants to be Governor. The state government's chief executive officer is charged with faithfully executing state law. How can he be expected to do that if he doesn't even understand citizens' rights regarding our ability to speak to each other?

Monday, May 04, 2015

The Bowling Green Daily News has posted answers to questions asked of Republican gubernatorial candidate Hal Heiner. One exchange in particular shows clearly why he cannot be trusted to represent the GOP this fall:

What are your plans for the Kentucky health care exchange and how do you plan on putting them into effect?

Heiner: "I have called for a full repeal of the Affordable Care Act and stand with (Kentucky GOP) Sens. (Mitch) McConnell and (Rand) Paul in doing so. In the meantime, we are left with an expanded Medicaid system that must be reformed – both to protect the survival of our rural hospitals but also to fit within our budget constraints as a commonwealth. As governor, I'll work to bring accountability and personal responsibility into our health care system by introducing programs that are working in other states – health savings accounts, deductibles and health incentives that can bring down costs for the entire system. As a Frankfort outsider, I plan to bring this type of thoughtful, conservative leadership to the governor's office on day one."

Choosing only to cheer for repeal of ObamaCare is the role of a powerless bystander, not a Governor with explicit powers spelled out in the language of the "Affordable Care Act," as well as the Constitution. Only Will T. Scott has promised to shut down Kynect, the state-run ObamaCare exchange, on his first day in office. Heiner's only response to Scott's decisive action on this front is to complain vaguely about taking "healthcare" away from Kentuckians. With Republicans like this, who needs Democrats?